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1857 Figures

Sipahi Revolt

Full list of figures, martyrs, coordinators, and collectives associated with 1857.

Est. 1947 · BengalA Bilingual Archive

Full Figure List

42 profiles

Mangal Pandey

MartyrPerson

Sepoy who sparked the Barrackpore uprising

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Bahadur Shah II

LeaderPerson

Last Mughal emperor and symbolic leader of 1857

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Bakht Khan

LeaderPerson

Rebel commander in Delhi

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Mirza Mughal

CoordinatorPerson

Mughal prince and rebel organizer in Delhi

Appointed Sipah Salar — Commander-in-Chief — of the rebel forces in Delhi, Mirza Mughal organized the military defense of the city during the four-month siege of 1857. He coordinated the Bengal Army sepoys who had marched from Meerut to Delhi and declared Bahadur Shah Zafar their emperor. After British forces retook Delhi in September 1857, he fled with other members of the royal family. He was captured by British officer William Hodson and, along with Mirza Khizr Sultan and Mirza Abu Bakr, executed at Khooni Darwaza — the Bloody Gate — on 22 September 1857. Hodson shot all three princes in the street before the assembled crowd.

Delhi, 1857. The uprising began when Bengal Army sepoys at Meerut mutinied and marched to Delhi, declaring Bahadur Shah Zafar as the symbolic emperor of the anti-colonial resistance. Rebel forces held the city for four months before a British siege force retook Delhi in mid-September 1857, ending organized Mughal-era resistance in the capital.

The execution of Mirza Mughal, Mirza Khizr Sultan, and Mirza Abu Bakr at Khooni Darwaza became one of the most widely discussed British reprisal acts of 1857. The site — a Mughal-era gate in old Delhi — entered public memory as a place of violent suppression. As the named Commander-in-Chief of the rebel military coalition, Mirza Mughal holds a specific place in the record of organized resistance against East India Company rule in Delhi.

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Mirza Khizr Sultan

CoordinatorPerson

Mughal prince associated with the Delhi phase of the 1857 uprising

Mirza Khizr Sultan, one of Bahadur Shah Zafar's sons, was part of the Mughal royal wartime circle in Delhi through the 1857 rebellion. He remained in the city during the four-month siege and was present when British forces retook Delhi in September 1857. He surrendered to British officer William Hodson alongside Mirza Mughal and Mirza Abu Bakr. On 22 September 1857, Hodson executed all three at Khooni Darwaza — the Bloody Gate — shooting them in the street. The killings, carried out after formal surrender, drew criticism in British correspondence at the time.

Delhi and nearby North Indian theatres during the 1857-1858 anti-colonial uprising against East India Company rule.

The execution of Mirza Khizr Sultan at Khooni Darwaza alongside Mirza Mughal and Mirza Abu Bakr became a noted episode in the history of British reprisals after the fall of Delhi. Hodson's decision to shoot the surrendered princes drew contemporary comment even from within British military circles. In 1857 historiography, Mirza Khizr Sultan is remembered as part of the Mughal wartime leadership circle whose elimination ended organized royal resistance in Delhi.

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Mirza Abu Bakr

CoordinatorPerson

Mughal prince associated with Delhi resistance in 1857

Mirza Abu Bakr was part of the Mughal royal family's presence in Delhi during the 1857 rebellion. He participated in the city's defense alongside other royals and rebel commanders through the four-month siege. When British forces retook Delhi in September 1857, he surrendered to officer William Hodson together with Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan. On 22 September 1857, Hodson executed all three princes at Khooni Darwaza — the Bloody Gate in old Delhi — shooting them before a crowd that had gathered expecting the princes to be taken prisoner.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

The execution at Khooni Darwaza — widely reported and commented upon in British correspondence of 1857 — made the three princes symbols of the violent suppression of the rebellion. Mirza Abu Bakr is remembered in 1857 historiography alongside Mirza Mughal and Mirza Khizr Sultan as part of the Mughal lineage that bore the heaviest personal cost of the rebellion's defeat in Delhi.

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Nana Sahib

LeaderPerson

Leader of the Kanpur rebellion

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Tantia Tope

LeaderPerson

Major military strategist of the rebellion

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Azimullah Khan

CoordinatorPerson

Political adviser to Nana Sahib

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Rani Lakshmibai

LeaderPerson

Queen of Jhansi and iconic rebel commander

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Rao Sahib Peshwa

CoordinatorPerson

Maratha rebel leader allied with Tatya Tope

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Ali Bahadur II

LeaderPerson

Nawab of Banda and rebel ally in Bundelkhand

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Begum Hazrat Mahal

LeaderPerson

Regent who led resistance in Awadh

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Birjis Qadr

CoordinatorPerson

Proclaimed ruler of Awadh during the revolt

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Maulvi Ahmadullah Shah

LeaderPerson

Religious-political leader of the Awadh uprising

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Maulvi Liaquat Ali

LeaderPerson

Leader of the Allahabad uprising

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Kunwar Singh

LeaderPerson

Rebel chief of Jagdishpur in Bihar

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Amar Singh

CoordinatorPerson

Successor commander to Kunwar Singh

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Khan Bahadur Khan Rohilla

LeaderPerson

Leader of the Bareilly uprising

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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Walidad Khan

LeaderPerson

Rebel leader in Bulandshahr region

Associated with the Indian Rebellion of 1857 through leadership, mobilization, or battlefield action in their region.

North and central India during the anti-colonial uprising of 1857-1859.

Remembered in 1857 historiography as part of the coalition that challenged East India Company rule.

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